Balanced sluice valve



1,521,680 G. GOMAND BALANCED SLUICE VALVE FilezMax-eh 18,1924 2 sheetsheet 1 m l l Jan, 6, 1925.

Afl/IIIA Jan, 6, 1925.

G. GOMAND BALANCED SLUICE- VALVE Filed March 18 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Jan. 6, 1925. Y

' UM?? D GABRIEL GOMAND, 0F BARCELONA, SPAIN.

BALANCED SLUCE VA-LIVE.'

Application led March 18, 1924.V Serial No. 700,161.

To ally/07mm t may concern:

Be itfk-nowv-n that I, GABRIEL GOMAND, a-citizcn of the Republic ofFrance, residing at Barcelona, Spain, have `invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Balanced Sluce Valves, of which the following isa specifica-tion. Y

This invention has for its vobject to provide `a balanced sluice valveinwhich the effects Y-of the' pressure Yare fully eliminated, andbalanceautomatically obtained, Without ,the intervention of anymechanical means,

and Whiclrisnot liable to get out of balance even should? the valveremain unsupported or become damaged.

The invention relates primarily togsluice valves` of the type disclosedin my prior` French Patent No. 523,476, issued April 22,

1921', .but essentially involves certain developments of,.andimprovements on, the

earlier construction; the-purpose being to provide animproved devicewhich is speciallydesigned for'usevvhere very high currentspeedsarei-linvolved,.and which is so constructed as to practicallyeliminateload losse'sfdespite such speeds. The present case,

y wherein Vthe invention is fully disclosed, is

tionfftherehetvveen;

a-continuation in part of my co-pending application No. 570,981', filedJune 26, 1922, now Patent No.- 1,50 ,280, granted September2, 1924.

According` to'my vpresent invention,l and to effect the object statedabove, I utilize, in place oftheflixedl partition or guide memberBrofthe Aconstruction shown inthe aforesaid French patent, a movable`fpart or :member which canfbe'opened or closed-.in correspondence withthe respective movements ofthe valve-so. that it 'may be regarded, in asense, as forming a second or' auxiliary valve. Inf the constructionaccording to the French patent, the part Rf referred to serves merely toguide 4the inscoming upstream current of. liquid. :or I lfluid to ltheYtivo feed. channels change of direction has the effect fofavoidf ingshock and consequent loadlosses; and even if some ofthe current stlll:continues :to

fion through the channels to the outlet, still G0,

the main `body ofthe current Will necessarily follow the direct path,and thefslightcomplementary loss occasioned byv 'the flow throughthechannels Will serve tok reduceithe speed and, therefore,thevloadlosses linl.the G5 valve. i

.In the acconipanyingjdra-WingsA:

Figure l' is .a centraly vertical sectional view of the complete'-invention;

Fig. 2V is a similar jsectiontaken at right 70 Fig. l; Y v

Fig. 4 is aicentral vertical section of a modification; and.

Fig. 5 is a.. horizontal sectionv online 5+5,1 D

Fig. 4.

Referring more yparticularly toEigS. ll and 3,1the` construction thereinillustrated comprises a; metallic casing A. itte'dfWith 80 two `flangeswhich,` however, .may obviously be replaced by various-,other fastening*.means The. 'upper :portion ofk the Acasing Iis provided with avhemispherical Vcap `Gr; 1 and at the center of Vithefcasing-'there fisdisposed $5 the valve-B which, in its-closed position,V is subjected topressureontivo opposite sides: through the. channels C* andD :bo-red inthe casing, saidfrhannels having-any suitable crossfsectional shape. The-surfacesof'the 90 valve in contact with the.l casing are; provided Withbronze facings vor yliners F-'xfo-r coactionvvith seats-or bearingsiE onlthe! casingv (Fig. 2) -in order; to prevent-oxidation,

which would interfere with :the necessary 95 tightness, and tofacilitate rep-airs.:

The valveV B is VYmounted"fon :anfoperatingrf rod'v H havingscrew'sthreadediil portion 1 I Which; extends through 1 andrfcoactsvviththe threadedwallo-f'la :hole formed verticallyf in V106 anut M that is inserted'throughandlocked in a horirfzontal,A transverse 1recess: inithe 1.- upper part ofthe valve; and'theslatterfis itself`provided alo-n'glits finner Aver-tical face` with apair 'ofspa'ced,`longitudinal gnidelo ribs (Fig. 8') .vhich'receive -betweenfrtli'ema"verticaltongue'V. kThe upper portion: 'of' the rodprojectsfthroughf-a. stuffngiboxisl @at kthe-top of theleasing"fitted`with ai cap-:iK and suitable'- packing L', and: 'ends ina 110 squaredpartU to facilitateitsrotation, andV lthe lowerportiou'oftherodprojectsthro-ugh v 3 is a horizontal sectionA online3+-3 'as well as on the angular turned. lu the closed position of thevalve,

the bronZe-to-bronze contact of the bearings E, F insures tightness. Therod itself, however, is held against endwisc movement vduring vitsrotation by means of a` stop N which lits in a seat of the same. depthas the height or thickness of the stop formed in the top ofthe cap G andclosed by the bottom member of the stuliing box J. The combined weightof the valve and rod is exactly equal to the upward reaction or forceexerted upon the valve by the pressure within the casing, as previouslystated,

' less the deduction for displacement of the 'erally similar to thatdisclosed in valve and the submerged portion of the rod; itbeing assumedthat a known pressure is involved/and that the weight is calculatedaccordingly.

The structure thus far described is genmy aboveidentified prior Frenchpatent; and such resemblance is augmented by the fact that the partor'member R forms an abutment nor guide against which the viii-coming'current from tip-stream impinges, and by which it is directed intofthetwo channels C and D, as indicated by the arrows g and V/t 3). Tn theconstruction according to said French patent, however, the part R isintegral with the casing and, hence, is permanently fixed inj position,so that it completely precludes any direct or straight- Vline passage ofthe current from-the inlet `l? to the outlet T but, on the contrary,compels the-current to pass into and through thc curved channelsirrespective of the position of valve B. Y l I @n the other hand, thepart R in the present construction, on the bach of which, incidentally,the guide tongue V is formed, is movable instead of stationary, so thatit can bev raised or lowered at will and, hence,

vacts in a way as an auxiliary valve. Consequently, when both valves Band R are raised, a direct passage is left open from inlet toV outlet,and the current will, therefore, be free 'to flowl straight through suchpassage, though as a matter. ofl fact some small part of the current maystill flow through the channels C and D. Bronze bearings E and F areprovided at the contacting edges of the valve R and the :adjacent portions of the casing for the reasons explained above in connection with thebearings E and F; and a vertical space or chamber S is left between theparts R and B, which chamber communicates at its lower endv with arelatively-shallow space or chamber S left between the bottom of themain valve B and the bottom of the casing, said chamber S opening intothe outlet T. The purpose of the chambers S and S is to permit foreignsubstances to collect in the latter chamber without obstructing theoperation of the device, such substances thereafter being drained out bythe current when the valves are opened.

To effect the vertical' movements of the auxiliary valve R incidental toits opening and closing, mechanism substantially similar to thatemployed to operate thc main valve B maybe utilized, and the two valvesmay, if desired, be connected in some suitablev manner to worlconjointly or in unison. t isadvisable, however, to open the main valvefirst and then the auxiliary valve, which can be readilyY done since thelatter valve is balanced by .the tip-stream and down-stream pressures,and, conversely, to close the auxiliary valve ahead of the main valve inorder to take advantage of the same balance. This restores the balanceof the main valve, which can then be readily lowered into closedposition.

In the construction herein illustrated, the valve R is slidably mountedon a second operating rod H and may be equipped with a locked nut M inengagement with thc threaded ortion I of the` rod, the opposite ends ofwiich latter project through upper and lower stuiiing-boxes J. rllheupper end of the rod may terminate in a squared portion U for engagementby a hand-wheel` key or the like. The direct engagement of the coactingguides X and V on the two valves insures their movements in properrelation to each other by preventing lateral displacements thereof.

While the auxiliary valve preferably has the shape above described, itmay, of course, take various other forms; for instance, that of abutterfly valve or throttle, as represented at R in Fig. 5, This valve Rwill Vbe rocked, however, about the vertical axis of its rod H2, insteadof being raised. or lowered, and it will coact with two vertical wallsor partitions A disposed in spaced parallel relation within the casingand formed integral therewith. lVhen moved to a position midway betweenand parallel with said walls, it will open a direct passage` from inletto outlet, as before.

I claim as my invention l. A balanced sluice valve, comprising a casingprovided with an inlet and an outlet for the current, a pair ofoppositely-located channels within the casing leading from the inlettoward the outlet, a vertically movable Valve in the casing forcontrolling communication between said channels and outlet, a movablemember located in the casing immediately opposite the inlet to normallydirect the in-coming current into said channels, and operating means foropening and closing the valve and tlie movable member; said movablemember and valve, when both are in open position, opening a direct,straight-line passage for tlie current from inlet to outlet;substantially as described.

Y 2. A balanced sluice valve, comprising a casing having an inlet and anoutlet ior the current; a pair of oppositely-located channels Within thecasing leading from the inlet toward the outlet; a guide member locatedin the casing immediately opposite the inlet for directing theiii-coming current into the channels; a Valve for controllingcommunication between the delivery ends of the channels and the outlet;operating means for the valve; and means for moving said guide memberinto open position to provide a direct, straight-line passage for thecurrent from inlet to outlet When said valve is open.

3. A balanced sluice valve, according to' claim 2, in which both thevalve and the guide member are mounted for vertical movement Within thecasing; substantially as described. l

4. A balanced sluice valve, comprising a casing having an inlet and anoutlet for the current, a balanced main valve inthe casing for opening'and closing an indirect passage for the current from inlet to outlet, abalanced auxiliary valve in said casing for, opening` a direct,straight-line passage for tlie current from inlet to outlet when thevmain valve is open, and operatingmeans for the valves; substantially asdescribed.

5. A balanced sluice valve, comprising a casing having an inlet and anoutlet for tlie current, a vertically movable main valve in the casingfor opening and closing an indirect passage for the current from inlettooutlet, a vertically movable auxiliary valve in said casing for openingand closing a direct, straight-line passageV for the current 'from inletto outlet When the main valve is open, and means for raising andlowering the valves; substantially as described.

' In testimony whereof, I ax my signature.

.GABRIEL GOMAND.

